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ROUND 6/AUGUST 3, 2013 CASTLE ROCK RACE PARK/CASTLE ROCK, WASHINGTON FLAT TRACK P44 AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP My Own Race: #17 HENRY WILES 4TH "We made some things better," Henry Wiles said after coming from well back in the pack to finish fourth. "We weren't able to really test that bike much before this race. The last time we actually rode that bike was in Daytona. Everything was really good early on, I was second in the first timed practice. We didn't really know a lot about our equipment on this type of track. You always wish you could start the day over. The worst we were was in the qualifying and we went forward throughout the rest of the day. It was kind of nice that we got to run the semi, we just kept learning about the bike. For me, that really helped. I could figure out where and how I needed to ride it in certain spots. A lot of my passes were going into the right-hander. I would hit the jump hard and then pass going into the right-hander. I about had Brad [Baker] there a few times, but he put up a pretty good battle. Even one time I was pulled up right beside him, but he kind of had the outside of the right-hander, which was the inside back to the left. He was riding really well. It was just a great ride to come out here with the guys that ride these tracks all the time." #12 BRAD BAKER 5TH "I actually like the changes in the track. I think it kind of helped me," said Brad Baker of his home race. "One thing I was kind of having trouble with was pushing the front end through the sweeper in the main event. I was getting through there really well early on and I was debating on whether I should flip my tire over and I didn't. I was just fighting the front end. I think if I would have been able to get through the sweeper as fast as I was earlier, I probably would have been able to stay with the front pack." A big advantage in Baker's quest for the Grand National Championship came when he capitalized on Jared Mees' misfortune in the Dash and pocketed the five points and $1000 that come with the win. "It was good to come home to a local race and win the Dash for Cash." #42 BRYAN SMITH 6TH "I'll take it for sure. I have fun riding TT's but I always get the short end of the stick," said Bryan Smith after his sixthplace finish. "I got sixth and moved up to second in the points, even though we lost some points to Brad [Baker], it was a solid night. I'll take it; I'll take it and get the hell out of town. You had to use a little bit of patience. [Turns] three and four were fast. I like the faster tracks and maybe that Wiles, who had worked his way to the front from the third row. "I had a third-row start and worked my way to fourth, so I passed a lot of guys along the helped a little bit. A lot of it was just me mentally. Steve Beattie was here just telling me what not to do all day. That went a long ways. That probably did more than anything I would do with the bike setup. It was just mentally doing what I needed to do. I got a real good jump off the second row; I think I ran fifth for a while. Luckily, it turned out where I could run around a couple guys on the outside in turn one, then I got in line real quick. I was behind Scott Baker for a while. We got to racing and that allowed a couple guys to catch up to us. I just basically got in where I could fit in. I tried to pick one guy off at a time. I will definitely take the sixth, though." #11 SCOTT BAKER 7TH #7 SAMMY HALBERT 8TH "I felt so comfortable," said Scott Baker, Brad Baker's brother. "I've been running out here quite a bit on the weekends whenever we have a local race. I just had fun. In the heat race I knew I had to just get a good jump on them and get out front and not make any mistakes. You just can't make any mistakes riding with these guys. It came really easy and everything was working really good. I'm hoping to make Pomona at the end of the year, but work has me really busy. I'm just trying to keep things going and be able to pay for my own program and not have to have too many people help me along. I definitely want to get out there for at least another race." Sammy Halbert, the winner of the last three Castle Rock TT races, didn't fare nearly as well this year. "The track being changed affected things a lot. I never got out here to test like a few guys did," said Halbert. "I think that would have helped me. We just never nailed the setup. I just didn't find the right setup exactly. We were fairly close. Just weak in a couple areas, mainly coming out of the tight left. I would spin it up a little bit. I did my best and I got a decent finish. I'm definitely not happy with eighth, but that's the way it goes. At the start of the National I was being a little cautious and a few guys went by me. I got things going and picked off a few guys. I reeled in Scott Baker and there towards the end I was trying to make something happen with him. I spun it up really bad a couple times; I almost thought that I was getting a flat tire or something. It was all of a sudden that I was getting sideways. It was pretty much an uneventful race really. I was just struggling in that one area coming off the tight left. I felt pretty comfortable over the jump, but I don't think that is going to help me for Peoria. Peoria is unique." way," said Wiles. "I had a pretty I think my pace and my speed decent first lap. I was able to make could have been even better." some passes where nobody else With just four laps to go Wiles was. I still struggled on certain grabbed fourth. parts of the track. To be honest "I had a really good race with

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